Two years ago Toni and Rafa gave suggestions for developing a string that would give him more topspin with less effort—he had been using the same yellow Babolat Pro Hurricane strings for more than 10 years. The transition wasn't easy. "Rafael is difficult to change," said Toni. But a hesitant Rafa liked the feeling: "The ball stays more time on the racket, so is easier to have the control," he said.

Right now, for me, it's a very, very nice feeling to be in (the) semifinals for the third time in a row for one of the most important tournaments in the world," Nadal said. "For me, probably right now, the most important."

On Saturday, Nadal -- trying to complete a career Grand Slam at age 24 by earning a U.S. Open trophy to put alongside the eight total he owns from the French Open, Wimbledon and Australian Open -- will face 12th-seeded Mikhail Youzhny of Russia for a spot in the final.

"I think the right height for tennis runs from Federer to Nadal,” Pam Shriver said last night. She was at courtside, watching one of those men, Roger Federer, warm up against his taller opponent, Robin Soderling. In the booth, John and Patrick McEnroe, who had been discussing how the “right” height for the sport had risen in recent years, were confused for a second, but finally got it. Federer and Nadal are both listed at 6-foot-1 (though each of them looks a little taller in person). The physical similarities don’t end there: Nadal is 188 pounds, Federer 187; in his prime, Pete Sampras was also listed as 6-foot-1, 188 pounds. As Shriver was saying, let’s not get ahead of ourselves—or above ourselves. Whatever inroads the game’s giants have made, 6-foot-1 has won 20 of the last 22 Grand Slams.

"No, I wasn't in the gym," the muscular Mallorcan laughed. "Seriously, I don't know. I think sometimes it's part of the confidence, the serve. It's true: I'm serving faster than ever."
He's also serving better.
Nadal is the only quarterfinalist that hasn't dropped serve, going a perfect 61 for 61 in service games and saving all 13 break points he has faced through four matches. He also is tied for first in first-serve points won, winning 85%.

Some players go out of their way to ingratiate themselves with the locals, talking at length about the pleasures of playing in front of “the best crowd in the world”, at “the best tournament in the world”, and what a joy it is to skip by the neon lights of Times Square at night. Nadal does not always go in for that crowd-pleasing, crowd-tickling stuff here, which is extremely refreshing. But that is not the main reason America has not taken to him yet; it all comes down to the fact that he has never been beyond the semis.